Frederick a



l the threads themselves.

UNITED STATES v vPATENT OFFICE.

FREDERIOK A. RAL'L, OF TYLER,'TEXAS.-

TOOL FOR CLEANING OUT NUTS.

'SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 568,277, datedSeptember 22, 1896.

Application filed March 24, 1896.

To all whom, it m/cty col/Learn:

Be it known that l, FREDERICK A. RALL, a citizen of the United States,residin g at Tyler, Smith county, Texas, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Tools for Cleaning Out Nuts, of which thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact descriptiou, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation ofthe tool. Fig. 2 is a section on line x fr, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a sectionon' line y y, Fig. 1; and Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1, but inwhich the tool is shown as it would appear after considerable use.

My invention has for its object to provide a tool for cleaning outinternally-threaded apertures so as to refresh the screw-threads byremoving all rust and dirt from between them and from off the edgesthereof, and that without in any way destroying or Changing Heretoforeit has been customary to clean out such screwthreaded apertures byanacid bath, by heat, and also by means of a screw-tap, but so far as I amaware there has been no special tool for this purpose.

I am aware of the tapering longitudinallygrooved tap having an integralbit or reamer on its end; also, that such tapering taps have had a plainor partially-threaded entering end or point, and that they have also hadremovable reamin g cutters; but in all such tools the tap begins with atapering threaded portion which may or may not merge into a straightthreaded portion. It follows, therefore, that when the tapering orfeeding end of such combined reamers and taps become dull the toolbecomes useless, and it will also be seen that if such a tap was used toclean out internally-threaded apertures the threads on its tapering endwould not only become dulled, but would force the rust into the 'bottomof the grooves, from whence it cannot be removed until the last threadsof the tap are engaged therewith, as they are the only ones which willreach the base of the threads. Hence it follows that the entire tapwould be dulled and rendered useless and, moreover, the threads of thenut would be cut and enlarged thereby, so that the nut would fit SerialNo. 584,616. (No model.)

loosely on its bolt. As these taps are far more expensive than a largenumber of nuts it does not pay to ruin them in attempting to clean nutswith them. v

With these objects in view and the foregoing difficulties to overcome myinvention consists in a tool provided with a plurality of longitudinalribs having straight nontoothed reaming edges at the front end andtransverse teeth in rear of the reaming ed ges and all of the samedepth, the base-line of the teeth being i-n the longitudinal plane ofthe said reaming edges and the points of each row of teeth terminatingon a line parallel with the longitudinal aXis of the tool,

so that when the tool is introduced into a will enter the threadedgroove and thoroughly clean it without Changing the thread, said firsttooth when dulled being ground off to thus lengthen and freshen thereaming edge and present a new tooth for the operation of cleaning.

In the drawings, A is the shank of the tool, squared at its rear end toreceiV-e an operating handle or device. A' are four longitudinal ribs atthe threaded front or working end of the tool, formed by grooving theshank longitudinally for the required distance. The front portions ofthese ribs form a reamer B, and the working edge b of each reamerbladeis parallel with the longitudinal axis of the tool, and the tool at thispoint will be of the same size or circumference as the bore of thethreaded aperture to be cleaned, so that the reamer will not cut out orreduce the threads at all, but will only remove adhering rust or dirtfrom their edges.

O are the teeth formed on the ribs A' immediately at the rear or innerend of the reamer B, and the base-line of each row of teeth is parallelwith the longitudinal axis of the tool and in the same longitudinalplane as the adjacent reaming edge b, while the outer ends or edges ofthe teeth of each row terminate on a line parallel with the longitudinalaxis of the tool. That is, all of the teeth are of the same depth andare shaped to fit the internal threads just as a bolt would the foremosttooth O will have to act in cleaning or refreshing an internal thread,``said tooth following the groove in the nut or aperture and removingall dirt, rust, tc. As soon as this first tooth becomes dull it will beground off and the blank space left thereby will form a part of thereamer, as shown in Fig. 4. Thus while the teeth grow fewer in numberthe reamer Will be correspondingly refreshed by a new and sharperreaming-surface. This operation may be continued till the last tooth isremoved.

The extremity of the reamer B is slightly rounded to permit the tool tobe more readily introduced into the threaded aperture, and as the reamersnugly fits the bore thereof it will serve as a guide to center the tooland cause its tooth to enter the groove of the internal thread.

This tool will not drll nor will it tap a thread into an aperture, norWill it remove a previously-formed thread and cut a new one, but isdesigned for the sole purpose of cleaning a `previously-formed internalscrewthread.

W'hat I claim is- A tool for cleaning internally-threaded aperturesWithout Changing the threads thereofI` consistin g in a shank providedat its working end with a plurality of straight longitudinal ribs,thefront portions of which constitute reaming cdges parallel with thelongitudinal axis of the tool, and the tool in rear of said reamingedges being threaded and forming thereby a series of teeth on each rib;all of the teeth thus formed being of the same depth, with the base-lineof each row in the longitudinal plane of the alined reaming edge; saidthreaded or toothed portion being constructcd to fit theinternally-threadcd aperture to be clcaned, after the manner of itsbolt, to cause the first tooth to act as the cleaner, substantially asset forth.

FREDERICK A. RALL.

VVitnesses:

I-l. LOEBNITZ, G. B. OLDROYD.

